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Chris Armes: What, in your view, are the most pressing issues in health care policy today and how can universities best help solve them?

Minister Jane Philpott: I think that one of the most critical areas we need to address is Indigenous health. It poses a huge challenge and the gaps in healthcare outcomes are stunning. I think universities have a tremendous role to play, by working with stakeholders to make sure that healthcare providers from Indigenous communities receive the training they need to serve those communities, for example. Research is another area where universities play a critical role. There is a lot more research that needs to be done with Indigenous peoples to be better able to understand the problems in healthcare and how they can best be addressed.

In addition, one of the things I talked a little bit about tonight is the fragmentation in the health care system. I think that’s incredibly challenging because of these silos that exist in healthcare systems across the country. Universities have a role to play as partners in addressing the fragmentation of the healthcare system, including research and informing health policy, to be able to look at how we can bring those systems together and ensure that the changes we make are more effective.

The aging population is the third area I would mention – in particular the issue of how to keep the health care system sustainable as the population ages. Universities, in their teaching and their research, definitely have a huge role to play in terms of how we actually keep the system sustainable so that it’s there for Canadians as they grow older.

CA: You’re the first physician to serve as Minister of Health – how has your time in practice shaped the way you approach the portfolio?

JP: I think it has been very helpful to have been a healthcare provider, just to be able to have the content knowledge and to be able to better understand how health policy impacts on the ground. When I’m helping to make policy decisions or changes, I think through not just what it looks like in theory but what I believe it would look like in practice and in the lives of healthcare providers and patients.

CA: On a similar note to the last question, what can governments and universities do to attract people from a wide range of careers and interests into the public policy field?

JP: I think it’s important for universities to continue to reach out to people from different communities and career backgrounds, and ensure that there are different program offerings available for people from these diverse backgrounds, who may not have thought of themselves as policy experts. These people could come from any number of fields into graduate-level training. I think there’s a need for mid-career opportunities for people to pursue academics after they’ve worked for a number of years, to return and do a Master’s of Business Administration or a Master’s of Public Administration or similar degree. Universities need to help people find mechanisms to take their life experience from diverse backgrounds, and use those in a policy environment.

CA: How do you see the health policy landscape changing in the next five to 10 years, and what skills will those entering the public policy field need most, in order to keep up?

JP: I think, to be effective, you need to not only know the policy but you have to figure out how to make it work in real life. Sometimes, it is the things that we don’t necessarily learn in school – or the skills that universities traditionally haven’t taught, like communications – that are hugely important. You may understand the policy but you need to learn how to be able to communicate that and learn how to implement those changes. They also need to focus on building leadership skills, so that graduates have more than just the policy content, but have the ability to be able to share that and work collaboratively across multiple sectors to translate that policy into meaningful action.